Tragedy.. mmhmm mmhmm.. misery and triumph  Piss poor, you know?  Catastrophic moments  They wanna know why I'm so seasoned, y'know  Welfare recipient - there's a reason why I'm seasoned    My folks out there in the ghetto.. the slums..  The projects.. and the beat down, renovated apartment complexes  Smell me!    [E-40]  Uh, you in a new school whip  Custom painted candy apricot butter  I'm in an antique old school four do'  Muffler draggin beat up duster  With scrapes and scratches, nicks and scars  Y'all get to drink out of wine glasses  we gotta drink out of jelly jars  Down and out like four flat tires no washing machine nor dryer  Just a pillowcase sack and a bunch of clothes wrapped  in a sheet on our way to the laundrymat  Will I ever get paid, can I make a dollar out of fifteen cents?  Y'alls got it made, we broke and starvin barely payin the rent  Sleepless nights, alligator t-uh-tears  Mommy arguin wit my daddy, daddy drunk too many beers  911 Mr. Po-Po, dey ain't happy wit day marriage  Pops tryna beat her down and make her have a miscarriage  My cousin shoots the needle, she be gone for days  She on that da-ah-diesel, she gone end up wit AIDS  I told her I love her I swear I just told her  but you know what she said to me?  Everybody got a gay or at least one dopefiend in they family  You ain't the only one wit a reject in yo' family  That's real    The reasoned the reasoned that we're seasoned  Seasoned and we, feel our paper won't disappear  Ohhh, hey it's been a long time in the bay   with God on our side we have somethin to say   and through the hard times we survive the game  Survive the game    If y'all smell onions - that's my arms potent  The reason I'm musty is cause, we ain't got no mo' deordorant  The laughin stock - patna, we ain't got no cash  Feet stinkin through my shoes in P.E. class  I'm thriznew with biznein briznoke; I'm about to hiznit the griznind  And if I get popped it ain't half no more it's 80% percent of my time   But that's ah cha-ah-chance, that I'ma have to-ah-take  Today my son birthday and I can't even buy a cake  I'm so damn through-a-through, I had a J.O.B.  You want me to cut my perm, oh y'all gone ave to fire me  My fellow just got out da joint, thought he might be okay  But my fellow got out and got stapled 26 times the same damn day  Who wanna get dunked on? In the the flatlands it ain't never too late  Patna all we need is a piece of plywood and a milk carton crate  What about dat shopping basket, you know I'm smart  We can gone take the wheels off that and ma-a-make a go cart  Yo peoples blessed you, I started from a quarter ounce  You came in the dope game wit a silver spoon up in yo' mouth  Why we gotta gamble maine we hurtin, you got all the bucks  In the ghetto we play dominoes for push ups    The reasoned the reasoned that we are seasoned   Seasoned and we, feel our paper won't disappear  Ohhh, it's been a long time in the bay  with God on our side we have somethin to say  and through the hard times we survive the game  Survive the game    You dig? You know  My people just tryin to make a way out of nowhere, you dig?  You know, the trials and tribulations, you dig?  It's hard times out here y'know  Y'know we just tryin to do our thing..    I remember when I was just a young boy  Growin up things was real hard for me  No food on the table, no clothes on my back  Lord have mercy  But my mother told me to stay strong    Hey, it's been a long time, in the Bay  With God on our side we have somethin to say  And through the hard times we survive the game  Survive the game